Author: 'Odidi

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Tensions were high at the Barratt Lecture venue at Rhodes University on 6 September when students were given a platform to voice their grievances to the current Student Representative Council (SRC). What started as a regular meeting between students and the SRC resulted in students begrudgingly leaving the venue. Students spoke about the current SRC leadership and issues they have experienced and asked for possible solutions to some of their issues, especially concerning exams starting soon. To put the students at ease about the issues raised, SRC president Avuxeni Tyala introduced the “Food for the Brain” project…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Hooggenoeg is one of the many neglected areas under the jurisdiction of the Makana Municipality. The small community on the top of a hill suffers from numerous sewage leaks that often flood the residents’ yards. One house, in particular, is the house of 50-year-old Zoliswa Noyisi on 7th Avenue, which caught fire five years ago. Leaking sewage now seeps through the charred house’s walls. “It was reported to the municipality. They didn’t come even to look,” says an angry neighbour who chose to remain anonymous. “The water goes into her room. Uyagula lomfazi (this lady is sick).…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla As the prospective move of the High Court from Makhanda to Bisho looms closer, the Makhanda High Court Action Committee (MHCAC) held a press conference on 15 August to express their disappointment with the final report released on 27 July by the Committee of the Rationalization of Areas under Jurisdiction of the Division of the High Court and Judicial Establishments, the Moseneke Committee. “We were deeply disappointed that the committee retained its interim recommendation,” began Professor Sizwe Mabizela, Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University. “The final report recommends the relocation of the seats of the Eastern Cape Division of…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Following numerous delays to the expansion of the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works project, Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu, accompanied by the Executive Mayor of Sarah Baartman District Municipality Deon de Vos, the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Zolile Williams, and Makana’s Executive Mayor Yandiswa Vara visited the site on 16 August to assess the progress of the project that is more than six years behind schedule. The project to expand the plant began in 2015 under Amatola Water, with the contractor being Mamlambo Construction Company, which was later liquidated in June…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Dozens of Makhanda politicians and community members turned out at City Hall on 14 July for public hearings on the Expropriation Bill. The Bill is designed to create a legal framework for the government to expropriate land when this is in the public interest, paying “just and equitable compensation” when it does so, or even no compensation at all in certain cases. Deputy Director of the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Mogoatike Johannes Lekala presenting at the Expropriation Bill public hearings. Photo: ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Makana Municipality Speaker Mabhuti Matyumza said the Makana municipality welcomed the…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Though the weather was cold, soldiers kept their bodies and spirits warm by chanting songs of excitement at the 2023 South African Infantry Formation Fittest Soldier Competition. The annual competition was held this year from 19 to 22 June in Makhanda, hosted by Makhanda’s 6 South African Infantry Battalion (6 SAI Bn), a week filled with drilling activities and challenges that pushed soldiers to their limits. 6 SAI’s Lieutenant Colonel Brian Miller urged soldiers to enjoy the competition and encouraged them to cheer for their Comrades in Arms even if they were competing against each other. Acting…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Tensions were high as school governing body (SGB) representatives, police, Anti-Crime group representatives, ward councillors, and parents gathered on 20 June to discuss the case of a three-year-old child previously thought to have been raped at her crèche. When she returned home from school on 12 June, the girl’s mother found scratches on the side of her private parts and blood on her underwear. The mother, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim, said her daughter told her that she either scratched herself or was “pinched” by a boy of the same…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Ward councillors and ward committee members gathered at Noluthando Hall in Joza on 9 June, to get an update on the water and roads situation in Makhanda. The meeting was called by Makana Municipality Speaker, ANC Councillor Mthuthuzeli Mabhuti Matyumza, who was not happy that some ward committee members and councillors were absent and had not excused themselves. “Ward Councillors, Ward Committees are foot soldiers of the community. When there’s going to be anything within the community, they are the first call to at least inform us that there’s this cry within our area,” said Matyumza. Council…

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla Makana Municipality’s Communication Office says Waainek Water Treatment Works (WTW) is operational following a breakdown at Howieson’s Poort pump station earlier in the week that interrupted production at Waainek. With Waainek WTW back in operation and one pump working at James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works (JKWTW), Makhanda will be put into a one-day on and one-day off cycle until the second pump at JKWTW has been repaired, the municipality said. They added that they would continue to truck water to “constrained areas” in the meantime.

By ‘Odidi Matai-Sigudla In response to the joint student-community protest over water shedding in May, the finding of E.coli in the water supply and the recent boil water alerts issued by the municipality, Parliament’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Portfolio Committee held a virtual meeting on 7 June to discuss the water provision challenges that Makhanda faces. It was a joint presentation by the Makana Municipality, Amatola Water Board, and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), hosted by ANC MP and COGTA portfolio committee chair Fikile Devilliers Xasa, and mediated by Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala, Deputy Minister of Water and…